Barrio Triste
In an impoverished neighborhood of 1980s Medellín, a group of disaffected teens steal a TV reporter’s camera to document their lives. Piercing the derelict landscape’s oppressive atmosphere with disarming reflections on dreams and death, their understanding of reality and hope begins to erode as reports of mysterious lights falling from the sky coincide with temporal and spatial distortions.
The feature debut from Bad Bunny collaborator STILLZ and featuring the first original score by Arca, BARRIO TRISTE is a generational portrait of Colombia’s forgotten youth, both personal and specific in its perspective, yet unclassifiable in its formal audacity. Accentuated by Arca’s intense, shape-shifting sonic palette, STILLZ boldly navigates the liminal spaces between despair and transcendence in “one of the year’s great debuts.” (The Film Stage)
Cast
- Juan Pablo Baena
- Samuel Velazquez
- Tomas Tinoco Higuita
- Bryan Erlin Garcia
- Samuel Andres Celis
- Brahian Acecedo
- Samuel Ruiz
- Estiven Salazar
- Jose Arley Marin Gonzalez
- "Exhilarating, tense, personal, and enigmatic, Barrio Triste is a compelling look at a lost generation in search of salvation, and among this year’s best first features."
- "[T]errifying and magical—as if Spielberg channeled Gabriel García Márquez. Backed by an entrancing score composed by Arca, Barrio Triste is a marvelous case of purposeful style gladly overcoming the routine in these kinds of coming-of-age stories."
- "A nightmarish odyssey into the depths of poverty and despair from Colombian-American director and photographer Stillz. [T]he director’s commitment to a realistic aesthetic never falters."
- "The film is a demanding and unflinching work, offering no catharsis or easy resolution. Its power lies in this refusal, presenting a stark portrait of lives on the margin and finding a profound, disturbing humanity in the static."
- "[S]o self-assured in its motley attitudes that it can’t help but impress."
- "[T]he film echoes the neorealism of Los Olvidados and the nonlinear editing of City of God. Overall, Barrio Triste is a profound inquiry into the meaning of life."
- "[T]he film transforms into something hypnotic and untraceable."
- "Engrossing, weird and wildly original...."
Gallery
Awards & Recognition
Best Soundtrack
Ghent Int'l. Film Festival
Best Film - Orizzonti
Venice Film Festival
Golden Alexander - Film Forward
Thessaloniki Film Festival
New York Film Festival
Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
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